The Gavinner's Last Song
by PierceTheVeils
Summary: Daryan Crescend writes a song in prison. Klavier performs it in his honor. Two-shot, set after AJ:AA
1. Part One: Daryan

The Gavinner's Last Song

Part One: Daryan

He didn't like the way it started. But he didn't have anything better to contribute.

 _"What a tragic affection to harbor,_

A soul that's seeking salvation to squander.

 _Such a beautiful burden to bear alone..._

 _I know."_

Daryan didn't know what he was doing. He wasn't a musician anymore. No one would ever hear his words.

Except maybe the guard outside his cell. Daryan had a cellmate once, too, but they were gone now. Moved elsewhere after a fit of violence. No permanent wounds, no matter how much he wished otherwise.

Not that he minded. He was alone, no matter what.

Maybe that's why he was writing a song. After losing his job, friends, and freedom, music was all he had. It was the only way for him to say what was on his mind. His only way to send a message.

But who was he writing to? The media? His fellow officers? Klavier? Any one of them would have made sense.

He looked back down at the page, looking at the lyrics and the tune that moved beneath it. He seemed... sympathetic, to them. Was he?

Well, maybe. He'd killed someone, but he sure hadn't wanted to. He knew about the Misham trial, about Klavier...

Klavier. He grit his teeth, picking up his pen. No sympathy there.

 _"Rants and fictions of violence, break all the silence._

 _Hiding in wake of your deception."_

He thought he was such a fucking angel, didn't he? Daryan saw the papers. He saw what they accused him of. He saw what Klavier had said to the reporters.

They'd been friends, before all this. What Daryan had done had nothing to do with him. Why did he make everything about himself?

Not just that. Why did he get away with it? He's done bad things, too. Daryan had covered for him like any friend would.

 _"Gurading desperate secrets, buried below..._

 _And you know..."_

Daryan knew. Klavier knew. All of their former band-mates knew. They'd been so great to him, and there he was. Shoving them all under a bus.

He could say what he wanted, make up whatever excuse he needed to. Manipulate any loophole to be "innocent" in this mess known as their lives.

Murder wasn't the only crime out there. And there's more than one way to kill a person. Shoot them from the outside, or stab them on the inside. Both got you the same result, in the end.

But of course, he had an excuse. Klavier always had an excuse. Just like the brother he hated so much.

Excuses, hm? That would make a good chorus.

 _"Tell me again,_

 _Your fucked up excuses_

 _Stop fighting your life of abuse, when_

 _Fame is your game,_

 _You say we're to blame_

 _But you know..._

 _You know..."_

Daryan changed 'we're' to 'I'm', after a second thought. He had no business justifying anyone but himself. Let those fucked up Gavin's speak for themselves. God knows they're good at it.

That bastard must have known what Daryan was trying to do. He'd wanted to save people's lives. He did. He saved the Chief Justice's son. A life for a life. It couldn't be avoided.

He'd done such a great job, too. There should never have been a witness. That bitch ruined everything.

He hadn't known who the suspect would be, but he'd been fine with the kid. He got a lawyer, and had no real evidence against him. Any competent attorney would have gone for reasonable doubt. It wasn't his fault that attorney made things harder for himself. Or that his best friend had no sense of loyalty.

Daryan hadn't wanted to believe it. They'd had a great time together, working both their day and night jobs. No reasonable person would have expected betrayal.

But that's showbiz for you.

Daryan growled.

Patience, he reminded himself. There had to be time for a second verse:

 _"This moment carries my last hesitation_

 _Seducing anger to haste my separation_

 _This solemn piece of a guilty net it grows, so cold"_

He was lost here. Had no one been worried about an ex police officer being targeted in prison? People he'd never met suddenly became his worst enemy. Daryan was lucky to be alive. And for what?

He wanted to protect his boss's family. That's all he'd been trying to do!

If he'd been half as charismatic as Klavier, would he have gotten away with it? If they hadn't fought so much that week, would Klavier have still suspected him?

Of course he would have. He acted like the world was against him. Anything to gain the public's sympathy. He made him sick.

 _"Your every breath now strengthens my affliction,_

 _My tears have faded, all hope, since my conviction._

 _You were never the martyr you pretended to be!_

 _Can't you see..."_

He knew the real Klavier Gavin. His whole family had been conniving and ruthless. He'd been delusional to think one of them could be any different. But they made such a good argument... it was hard not to be convinced. Until the truth came out, that is.

Daryan didn't believe in masks. He was who he was. That way, anyone who lied about him would be realized right away.

Or so he thought.

The ex-rocker added another chorus, lengthening it with a repeated melody.

 _"Sell me again, your faultess excuses._

 _Holding on at the end of the noose, when_

 _Fame is your game_

 _You said I'm to blame_

 _But you know..._

 _You know..."_

He lifted the pen to his face. Should he have a bridge?

No. Klavier was the one who liked lengthy bridges. The longer he was singing over everybody, the better. He should give focus to the instruments.

But after a minute, he added words anyway. Just to heighten the mood.

 _"How they love you now._

 _Teardrops rain down._

 _Nobody cares!_

 _Nobody cares!"_

He loved putting together instrument parts. Especially guitar.

So many people misunderstood guitar. They assumed it had to be at the forefront, to be flashy, in order to sound good. But there were so many ways to use it as an atmosphere. So many ways to turn vocals into a background, too.

He wanted to create the darkest atmosphere possible. He wanted him to know how shitty it was down there.

The chorus hit again, without the added part from the second verse. He combined the bridge with the chorus for a fadeout, put down the pen, and looked at the scrawl across the page.

Daryan had only gotten his hands on one piece of paper. To fit everything on, his writing and gradually gotten smaller and smaller. Crude arrows pointed to the chorus ever time the song was meant to enter it. He used a startling lack of correct musical notation. Hopefully, the potential recipients could interpret it.

There it was. His bleeding heart on a page of music no one would ever read. He should have ripped it up.

He didn't know why he didn't. Nor did he understand shoving it into an envelope, addressing it to a certain prosecutor's office. Was it revenge? An apology? An explanation?

It was him. Raw and real.

 _Try faking your way out of that._

* * *

 **A/N's: Disclaimer: I do not own Ace Attorney. If I did, we would have gotten a second AJ. Or Athena Cykes: Ace Attorney.**

 **I also don't own Ben Moody's song "10.22", since this fic is heavily influenced by the story behind the song. (Slightly) modified lyrics were used in the making of this fic, so I recommend listening to it while reading.**


	2. Part Two: Klavier

The Gavinner's Last Song

Part Two: Klavier

Klavier didn't know what to say. _Daryan_ wrote this?

It was beautiful. Once he figured out how all the instruments worked, that is. What, was he only given one sheet of paper?

He had no idea Daryan could do this. Why hadn't he wanted to write more of their songs? This style would have been awesome for one of their ballads! Atroquinine, My Love, perhaps? He always thought the upbeat tempo didn't match the lyrics, but the label wanted a single, and what the label wanted, they got.

 _Why didn't you show me this earlier?_

Sure, Klavier ended up writing most of their songs, but everyone had a say in it. He had standards, but if they really wanted to write something, he would've looked at it. Just like he'd helped Shane with his solo career. His single "In Love with a Killer", was blowing up the charts. Ach, he loved that song! He'd written from the heart, that day.

Just like Daryan had.

Klavier tried tot put it aside at first, focus on his work. But he couldn't. He lost his case against Herr Shields (not that he was upset. He was glad the man had finally found an innocent man to represent). He'd forgotten his promise to watch Trucy's show that night. He had to play that song, just one more time. He hummed the chords in trial. He sang the lyrics in the Prosecutor's Office until he was whipped.

It was his last connection to Daryan. The connection Daryan had severed the day he committed murder.

Klavier tried to visit him the next day. He was refused.

He sent Shane. The bassist was accepted, but vague about what was said. What was going on here?

He tried to send Johann next. The man refused to "take sides in this fight". The prosecutor was very confused.

Finally, he went to Andre, and got his ear talked off for his troubles. Mostly a waste of time, but Klavier did make a crucial discovery about the song that day. He unfolded the sheet music when he got home.

 _Mein Gott... He was writing about me._

He didn't care what he had to do. The public just had to hear this song. Somehow, it had to reach Daryan again.

* * *

"And sharing his new song with us, we have Klavier Gavin! Give it up for your favorite rockstar!" Cristal's smile was elastic, forged like a fake ID. It'd taken a lot of favors to put him on the show this evening.

Still, Klavier walked on with his game face. He accepted the microphone from her, and turned to address the audience.

"This song... doesn't belong to me. It's Daryan's."

A gasp ran through the crowd. The press had done everything in their power to demonize Daryan Crescend, insisting he was a cold blooded killer corrupted by the privelge of fame. Klavier had tried to stop them, but alas. They'd twisted his words. Some of the time.

Other times, he'd been angry. Hurt. Betrayed. Nothing made sense anymore. No one was there for him.

Ach, he'd been so blind! So selfish. While he got drunk alone, passed out on his own couch after breaking furniture the entire week Herr Edgeworth insisted he take off, Daryan was locked in prison. Forever. Who knew what prisoners would do to an ex-detective like him? he could have died.

"I got a letter from him. A week ago. It was a song. I'd never seem him write like this before." Klavier held up the sheet music. Scattered applause, here and there. Maybe Daryan still had a few fans out there. "I want you all to listen very carefully. There's a side of the story you still haven't heard."

He looked back to his friends, plus one. It didn't matter that Daryan wouldn't see: he would never touch the man's guitar.

They gave him the cue. And with that, the song began.

Klavier took a shaky breath. He really didn't have the voice for this song. He'd wanted to modify it, but Andre insisted he left it alone. He couldn't change it now, could he?

 _"What a tragic affection to harbor,_

 _A soul that's seeking salvation to squander._

 _Such a beautiful burden to bear alone..._

 _I know."_

 _I understand, Daryan. I finally understand. Please, believe me._

Klavier added the slightest bit of growl to his voice, something he wasn't used to doing. But this wasn't his song. Just a cheap cover that would have to survive public scrutiny.

 _"Rants and fictions of violence, break all the silence._

 _Hiding in wake of your deception._

 _Guarding desperate secrets, buried below..._

 _And you know..."_

He hit the chorus hard. By then, people were finally starting to get into it. N _ow for the moment when they realize I'm singing a song that meant to attack me._

But this wasn't about him. This was about Daryan. He had to do this.

 _"Tell me again,_

 _Your fucked up excuses_

 _Stop fighting your life of abuse, when_

 _Fame is your game,_

 _You say I'm to blame_

 _But you know..._

 _You know..."_

There were a few gasps at the swearwords. Klavier, for one, had never made a practice of using them. If only because Kristoph actually had washed his mouth with soap when he was little.

All in all, this was going better than he'd thought. Hopefully, the song would reach everywhere.

With those thoughts in mind, he entered the next verse with ease. And by ease, he meant almost choked on the words. _I did this._

" _This moment carries my last hesitation_

 _Seducing anger to haste my separation_

 _This solemn piece of a guilty net it grows, so cold_

 _Your every breath now strengthens my affliction,_

 _My tears have faded, all hope, since my conviction._

 _You were never the martyr you pretended to be!_

 _Can't you see..._

 _Tell me again,_

 _Your fucked up excuses_

 _Stop fighting your life of abuse, when_

 _Fame is your game,_

 _You say I'm to blame_

 _But you know..._

 _But you know-ho._

 _Sell me again, your faultless excuses._

 _Holding on at the end of the noose, when_

 _Fame is your game_

 _You said I'm to blame_

 _But you know..._

 _You know..."_

He closed his eyes as the instruments took over. Gott, the atmosphere was beautiful. Much better than he'd ever created.

Klavier wrote hits. Daryan wrote art.

He was so lost in the melody, Klavier almost forgot his cue. Luckily, he managed to come in on time.

 _"How they love you now._

 _Teardrops rain down._

 _Nobody cares!_

 _Nobody cares!"_

Klavier was crying. The words cut him like knives. It was what Daryan wanted him to feel.

And who knows? Maybe he deserved it. Maybe he deserved more heat than he'd gotten when the Gavinner's officially broke up.

 _"Tell me again,_

 _Your fucked up excuses_

 _Stop fighting your life of abuse, when_

 _Fame is your game,_

 _You say I'm to blame_

 _But you know..."_

Ach, that sweet guitar. Why had they always kept it in the background?

He sang the last few words, letting the song fade out. There was a moment of silence.

And then, the crowd exploded.

They loved it. Some screamed for an encore, but the host had been sure to end the show right after.

And that was it. That was the last song the Gavinner's would ever preform together. It was the last time Daryan would ever truly be with Klavier, in presence or in spirit.

At least it wasn't such a tragedy anymore.

* * *

 **A/N's: And now, about two years after I posted the first part, you all get the second part. I had posted this on AO3 some time ago, but forgot to bring it over here.**

 **But there you have it. The second piece of the puzzle, when Klavier preforms for Daryan's sake. Once again, I highly recommend you listen to the song while reading. It's called "10.22" by Ben Moody.**

 **I think I sympathize with both parties, in the end. Fun as Daryan was to explore, Klavier is tied for my second favorite prosecutor. I love how he's given every opportunity to be the jerk, but does everything in his power to avoid it. It's like he knew what the older prosecutors had done, and wanted to learn from their mistakes.**

 **But the first time I heard this song, I thought of Daryan. He needs more good fics about him, and it was my goal to provide that. Even if it took forever.**

 **Even so, I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading, don't forget to review, and I'll see you on the far side!**


End file.
